And can this be, it came about by chance

So many properties required by man,

In one life-giving fluid here are found?

And was it just from chance primordial nothingness,

That only in this fluid all needs abound?

Fortuitous, that two explosive gases,

Are able to unite tw'extinguish fire?

The only matter which, when freezes,

Masses safely on the surface,

That water's early life should not expire.

Abundant, combination of two elements,

Yet stable it, and difficult to change;

Were this not so, its too unstable contents

Would soon ignite,

To blow apart our range.

This tasteless, neutral combination that man floats on,

Will vaporise, without the need to boil.

We breath it, and the sun evaporates it,

And purified, forms rain-clouds,

To irrigate the products of our soil.

All salts man needs for life

Dissolve in water;

'Een air we breath dissolveth in it too;

It passeth through a semipermeable membrane,

Permitting food absorbed by me and you.

'Tis colourless and clear, light passes through it,

That early chlorophyll could be formed there;

It boils at temp'ratures to suit our cooking,

Conducts 'lectricity, for all we bear.

This wonderful, exotic, common water,

Stays wet at temp'ratures at which we live;

It forms the base, indeed, for our existence,

The food we eat, and all that 'round us is.

This list, though long,

Yet only scrapes the surface

Big book t'would take, to 'numerate the lot.

Enough, for one to show that, undirected

Ev'lution can't account for all we've got.

Poetry and Prose Archives

Len Baynes

09.03.06 Front Page

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